Report: Yankees in Talks to Trade for Angels Vernon Wells

Desperate times calls for desperate measures, and make no mistakes about it, this is a move of desperation by the New York Yankees.

Earlier, we reported that Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter, will almost certainly miss the beginning of the season because he has yet to fully recover from a broken ankle he suffered in the postseason late last year.

The Bronx Bombers are also going to start the season without the services of key players such as Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira, so something had to be done to plug the holes and retrieve some of the home runs missing from their lineup .

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels are closing in on a trade that would send outfielder Vernon Wells and a large amount of cash to the Bronx, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday.

Wells has a no-trade clause and could reject any deal.

Two years and $42 million remain on the seven-year, $126 million deal Wells signed with Toronto. The Blue Jays dealt Wells to Los Angeles for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera in January 2011.

Wells, who has four home runs in 36 at-bats this spring, lost his everyday role last season. In the two years since joining the Angels, he is hitting .222 with a .666 OPS.

I’m not going to beat around the bush, Vernon Wells has been downright awful in recent years, but the Yankees will be hoping that he rediscovers the form that saw him win Gold Gloves and make All-Star appearances while in Toronto. If the Angels do eat a large portion of Wells’ albatross of a contract, then obviously it lowers the risk that the Bombers will be taking.